


Pampered

by machtaholic (cinderella81)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Dresses, Gen, Haircuts, Pampering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 19:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10367772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderella81/pseuds/machtaholic
Summary: Takes place in the same universe asMeddling- Isabelle and Jace enjoy some brother - sister bonding and she teaches him the fine art of pampering oneself and perhaps helps him to accept himself a bit more





	

Jace hesitated for a few minutes before knocking on his sister’s bedroom door.

“Enter,” Izzy called.

Jace cracked the door and poked his head inside. “Hey, Iz,” he started, “I don’t mean to intrude.”

“You’re not, you never do,” Izzy replied. “What can I do for you?”

Jace leaned against the doorway, one hand nervously rubbing the nape of his neck. “Well,” he said. “I was wondering if you could help me out.”

“Always happy to help my big brother,” Izzy said.

“Well, you cornered me a couple of months ago and … “ Jace ran a hand through his hair.

“Unlocked your potential,” Izzy finished. “Yes, and such a lovely haircut needs upkeep. Is that what you came to ask me?”

“Yeah,” Jace muttered. “Can you?”

“I can help,” Izzy said with a nod. “Meet me here tomorrow morning.”

“Why can’t we just do it now?” Jace asked. “No missions, I already finished training, you don’t look super busy at the moment.”

“I have my reasons,” Izzy said. “Tomorrow morning. Here.”

“Fine, have it your way,” Jace said, giving the door frame a knock before heading back to his own room.

“I always do,” Izzy replied.

* * * 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.” Jace resisted the urge to stomp his foot. He’d met Izzy that morning like she’d asked and she’d snatched his stele, glamoured away his runes and then dragged him out of the Institute without giving Jace a chance to ask any questions. Izzy had dragged him through Brooklyn and had stopped outside a red brick building, a simple black awning over it providing the name of the establishment - Venelle.

“Yes,” Izzy said. “You take yourself far too seriously and need a lesson in pampering yourself.”

“And you’re the one to give me this lesson,” Jace said.

“Well, I’ll be the one to show you how wonderful it can be,” Izzy replied. “I’ve scheduled us for a whole bunch of treatments, including having them touch up your hair.”

“Isabelle,” Jace said in a warning tone.

“Jace,” Izzy said. “Come on, we have a whole day - no missions, no training, no life or death situations. Let’s take advantage of it. You’ll thank me when it’s all over.” She grabbed his hand and tugged him through the door.

“You keep saying that,” Jace muttered.

“And I’m always right,” Izzy said as she tugged Jace up to the reception desk.

“Don’t see you forcing this on Alec,” Jace said, resisting the urge to pout.

“Alec knows how to make time for himself and to de-stress,” Izzy replied. “You, on the other hand, do not.” She pressed a kiss to her brother’s cheek before turning to face the receptionist. “Hi there, I’m Isabelle and this is my brother Jace and we have very many appointments today.”

The girl behind the desk checked her computer screen and nodded. “Full days, both of you,” she said. “We have you down for -”

“Actually, this is my brother’s first time here,” Izzy interrupted. “I kind of want it to be a surprise.”

“I don’t,” Jace said.

“Too bad,” Izzy said. “Come on, we need to go get changed so we can get to our first appointment.”

“Changed?” Jace said, jerking a bit as Izzy tugged him down a hall to the changing room. He was handed a pair of black shorts, a tank top and a very short robe. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” Izzy said. “Go change.”

Jace sighed and took the clothes and stepped into the small room and quickly changed into the clothes provided for him, putting his street clothes into the bag waiting in the room. He couldn’t stop tugging on the shorts and the robe as he stepped out of the room.

“I feel naked,” Jace muttered.

“You look fine,” Izzy said as she stepped into the hallway wearing something similar. “Come on, first appointment.”

“Not gonna tell me?” Jace asked.

“Nope,” Izzy said, humming to herself as she led the way to their first appointment.

Jace followed Izzy into the first room and stopped. “Okay, what is all this?” he asked when he saw all the equipment around the room and a single table in the center of the room.

“I set you up with a Chocolate Truffle Body Wrap,” Izzy said. “And I’ll be right next door.”

“A … what is that?” Jace asked. 

“Your body is going to get wrapped in chocolate covered truffles which will, according to the brochure, infuse your skin with vitamins and powerful antioxidants. The macadamia nut oil tones, softens, and protects your skin from damage,” Izzy replied. “So, take off your robe and shirt and lay down and wait. I’m going next door.” Before Jace could respond, Izzy pecked him on the cheek and left him alone in the room.

“Chocolate covered truffles,” Jace muttered as he tugged his robe and tank top off and laid down on the table, closing his eyes. He could sense when someone entered the room, but the woman spoke in soft, soothing tones, explaining everything she was doing. 

Jace felt a bit uncomfortable at first, when it was all done and he was left to sit. He felt heavy, weighted down by everything covering his skin. But the longer he laid there, the more the weight started to feel a bit comforting. He could feel his body relaxing, his mind drifting.

By the time the woman returned to help unwrap him and help him off the table, Jace felt a bit clearer, a bit looser. He padded over to the shower and quickly rinsed off before there was a knock on the door and Izzy poked her head in.

“You look relaxed,” Izzy teased.

“Felt funny,” Jace replied with a shrug.

“Well your skin looks amazing,” Izzy said. “Come on, you have a sports massage next.”

“Do I even want to know?” Jace asked.

“It’s massage for athletes,” Izzy said. “And given our line of work, I thought it would be a good thing for both of us to have.”

“Yeah, guess so,” Jace said, letting Izzy tug him along to another room where he was again separated from Izzy. 

The man who entered the room a few minutes later gave Jace a smile. “Hey there, I’m Lewis, your massage therapist for the next ninety minutes or so,” the man said, nudging his glasses. “If you’d just take off your robe and shirt and hop up on the table, we’ll get started.”

Jace did as Lewis asked, settling face down on the table a few moments later. 

“If I get too chatty, just let me know,” Lewis said as he turned the lights down a bit and pulled the sheet and blanket up to Jace’s waist. “If the pressure’s too hard, let me know that, too.”

“Okay, sure,” Jace replied softly, closing his eyes. The first touch on his back made him jump just a bit, but after a few minutes he felt a particularly hard knot in his shoulder release and gave a low moan.

“Work with your arms a lot?” Lewis asked.

“Mmmhmm,” Jace hummed. “Could say that.” 

“Because your shoulders and arms are, like, super full of knots,” Lewis said as he worked.

By the time the session was done, Jace felt a bit akin to jelly. His skin was all warm and his muscles all loose and he barely registered Lewis handing him a cup of water. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Have a few more of those,” Lewis said. “And nothing too strenuous for the rest of the day.”

“He’s here all day,” Izzy said from the doorway. “So we’re good. Come on Jace, toss your shirt and robe on so we can get going.”

“I feel like that’s all you’ve said today,” Jace muttered as he complied with Izzy’s request.

“Well if you wouldn’t move so slow, I wouldn’t have to say it,” Izzy said.

“Whatever,” Jace said, brushing past Lewis as he followed Izzy into the hallway. “What do you have planned for me next?”

“A professional manicure and a Gentleman’s Organic Facial,” Izzy replied. “You’ve let your nails get out of control again and a facial can make you feel like a new man. I’m getting the Fire and Ice Facial Treatment myself.”

Jace gave a low groan and rubbed a hand over his face. “This is all too much, Iz,” he said. “I just wanted my hair touched up.”

“That may have been what you wanted, but it’s not what you needed,” Izzy said. “Now stop being a baby and go sit down.” They’d reached the next treatment room and Izzy shoved Jace over to one of the chairs.

Jace flopped into one of the chairs, giving Izzy a glare. “Think you know what I need,” he muttered.

“I do,” Izzy replied as she sat in the chair next to hume. “Now hush, and relax.”

Jace dropped his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. He could hear Izzy chatting softly with the people who’d entered the room, but he just remained silent, let them do what they would - not like he could stop them anyway. He just barely managed to not snatch his hand away when he felt someone pick it up and only flinched a little when he felt someone’s hands on his face.

He lost track of time a bit, fingers massaging his hands, fingers massaging his face … he drifted in and out and then finally came back to full consciousness as someone was cleaning gunk off his face. He opened his eyes a bit and gave a languid stretch, arms high above his head, toes pointed. It felt good, cleansing. Out of the corner of his eye he caught one of the workers, a tall man with blue hair who could have been a Seelie, openly admiring him. He turned, caught the man’s gaze, and winked.

“Stop it,” Izzy said, but she was grinning.

Jace laughed and hopped off the chair and stretched again. “You love it,” he said. “I assume we only have one more stop left, right? Can I put my street clothes back on?”

“Yes, you can put your street clothes back on,” Izzy replied. “I’m going to sit and watch since I just got my hair done last week.”

“Whatever,” Jace said, following the maze of hallways back to the changing room and tugging his street clothes back on, his coat hanging off his arm. He met Izzy back in the hallway and followed her towards the front of the building, to the salon proper.

Izzy grabbed Jace’s coat and manhandled him into one of the salon chairs, pulling up a chair next to him and laying his jacket across her lap.

There was no mirror in front of the station where Jace sat and he jumped when a cape was wrapped around his neck.

“Sorry.” A woman moved to stand in front of Jace and gave him a smile. “I’m Angie. Your sister here made an appointment with me for touch up color and a trim. How long has it been since your last cut?”

Jace shrugged under the cape. “Couple months?” he said.

“Color like this, you need to do root upkeep at least every six weeks, could freshen up the cut at the same time,” Angie replied. “I can put you on a schedule if you want.”

“We’ll talk it over,” Izzy piped up from her spot. “For now, can we ... ?”

“Of course,” Angie said. “Let’s do the buzz first, then color, then trim up the top.”

“Whatever,” Jace said with a shrug, but couldn’t resist sighing when he felt Angie running a brush through his hair. 

“Uh-huh,” Angie said. “I see how it is.”

Jace couldn’t help but blush as he felt Angie pull his hair up and secure it to the top of his head.

“Aww, a manbun, how cute,” Izzy teased, reaching into her purse.

“Do it and regret it,” Jace said.

“Fine,” Izzy said.

Jace was saved from further conversation by the loud hum of the clippers. Jace dropped his head, closing his eyes and humming softly as he felt the clippers on his scalp, felt the vibrations against his skull.

“All right, let me go mix up the color and I’ll be right back,” Angie said, patting Jace on the shoulder before going to mix the color.

“Okay truth,” Izzy said. “How’s your day been so far?”

“Truth?” Jace replied. “Not horrible.”

“You’re lying,” Izzy said. “Truth.”

“It’s been nice,” Jace admitted after a couple minutes. “To have someone else taking care of me.”

“See, I was right,” Izzy said. “I knew what you needed.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jace muttered as Angie came back with a small bowl of color, setting it on a tray and taking Jace’s hair down. The first brush of color made Jace shiver with how cold it was. A few minutes later Jace began to zone out as Angie worked, his eyes closed as Angie and Izzy chatted. 

The sound of plastic crinkling and the feel of elastic around his ears and across his forehead suddenly had him wide awake.

“Relax,” Angie said, patting his shoulder. “Just speeding up the process a bit.”

Jace turned his head and watched as Angie rolled some sort of contraption over and set it up behind his chair.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Hair dryer,” Angie said, moving Jace’s head so he was facing forward. She then maneuvered the hair dryer so it was right over his head and then lifted the chair until Jace’s vision was obscured by the dark gray visor of the hair dryer. “This way, you sit for less time.” She turned a knob and hit a few buttons and suddenly Jace’s face and head were blasted with warm air.

Jace didn’t know if he just imagined Izzy laughing or if he could actually hear it over the hum of the dryer, but he was absolutely mortified. He tried to just close his eyes and imagine he was somewhere else and hope Izzy wasn’t taking pictures.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the dryer stopped and Angie lowered him out, removing the plastic shower cap with a small smile. “Now that that’s done,” she said, “time to wash. Follow me.” 

Jace followed and settled himself in a plush chair, carefully settling his neck in the lip of the wash bowl. He heard the water start and few moments later, hot water sprayed his hair, followed by Angie’s fingers, working the water through his hair. The water turned off and then Angie’s hands were back in his hair with shampoo. Jace felt his toes curl in his boots as Angie’s fingers scratched and massaged, working their way from the crown all the way down to the nape of his neck. He couldn’t help but groan a little.

“I see how it is,” Angie said, tone teasing as she rinsed the shampoo from Jace’s hair. “Now, I’m going to use a deep conditioner and let it sit for a bit to repair your hair from some of the damage we did with the color and the heat.” 

Jace hummed his acknowledgment, toes curling again as Angie’s fingers were suddenly back in his hair again. He barely registered when Angie finished up, and left him to sit for a bit. His eyes closed and he breathed deep, allowing a deep sense of contentment and relaxation to wash over him.

When the water started again, Jace hummed and brought himself back to reality. He was more awake when Angie helped him sit up, towelling his hair dry.

“This color turned out amazing,” Angie said as she led the way back to her station.

“Someone looks positively relaxed,” Izzy said as Jace sat back down.

“Whatever, Iz,” Jace mumbled.

“I’m just going to do a quick trim and blow dry and we’ll be done,” Angie said.

Since there was no mirror, Jace had no idea what Angie was doing, but from the sounds Izzy was making it was good. He could see little bit of hair floating, so he comforted by the fact she wasn’t cutting it too short. After the scissors came the blow dryer and then the flat iron.

The cape was finally removed and Jace stood, giving a languid stretch, surprised when his hair fell into his face. He’d expected it to be styled back like he normally wore it, not loose and almost hanging in his face.

“That looks perfect,” Izzy said. “Absolutely perfect.”

Jace ran a hand through his hair, almost surprised at how soft it felt under his fingers. “Feels nice,” he admitted.

“Better than nice, I bet,” Izzy said. “Be a dear and thank Angie. We have one more stop to make.”

“Food? Is it food?” Jace asked, turning and giving Angie a smile. “Thanks.”

 

“My pleasure,” Angie said. “That cut won’t stay like that, so come back in about 6 weeks and I can fit you in.”

Jace just smiled and nodded, snagging his coat from Izzy and sliding it on. “Thanks,” he said again, before Izzy grabbed his hand and practically dragged him away. They stopped at the receptionist’s desk to pay before they were back out on the street.

“Food?” Jace asked.

“We’ll grab something on the way, promise,” Izzy replied. 

They did stop and grab some food, hot dogs and chips from a street vendor, but it was enough to keep Jace from falling over from lack of food. Izzy finally stopped in front of a storefront, the awning over the front door bearing the name ‘Odin’.

“Izzy, you have bought me an entire new wardrobe already,” Jace said. “What are we doing here?”

“Hush, and just let me handle everything,” Izzy said, tugging Jace inside. Izzy dragged them through the store to a discreet door at the back, smiling at the employee practically guarding the door.

“Iz,” Jace said softly.

“Hush,” Izzy said again before smiling at the employee. “We’re here to see Cade. Tell him Isabelle is here with Jace.”

The employee nodded and disappeared through the door for a moment, before stepping back out and motioning for Jace and Isabelle to enter. The area they entered was cluttered, filled with a table, tons of fabric, at least two visible sewing machines and other sewing accoutrements.

“Isabelle,” Jace whispered. “What are we doing here?”

“One last surprise,” Izzy said.

A man appeared from the organized chaos and gave them a smile. “Isabelle?” he said, smiling when Izzy nodded. “Which means you must be Jace. I’m Cade and I have everything here ready for you to try on.”

“I’m extremely confused,” Jace said. “Someone wanna fill me in?”

“Your sister brought your measurements to me, and asked me to make you something special,” Cade replied. “To surprise you.”

“Whole day’s been a surprise,” Jace muttered.

“Just a few more surprises,” Izzy said, patting Jace on the shoulder.

Cade disappeared back into the chaos and came back a few minutes later with two boxes and set them on the table near where Jace and Izzy were standing.

“Your sister was meticulous with her measurements so everything should fit perfectly, but you can try it on first if you want,” Cade said, motioning for Jace to open the box.

Jace hesitantly pulled one of the boxes closer and started to lift the lid. He saw the midnight blue vinyl and slammed the lid of the box shut, cheeks pink as he looked at Izzy and Cade.

“It’s okay,” Izzy said. “I’m not going to tell anyone and Cade is super discreet. It’s okay to want to feel nice and anyway you choose to do it is fine, I just want to help.” She pressed a kiss to Jace’s cheek and lifted the lid of the box, smiling.

“Mid-thigh length, sleeveless, high neck, zippered back and just a bit of boning in the waist,” Cade said softly. “I added in a pair of matching lace gloves, too. Just seemed to go together.”

“And in the other box?” Izzy asked.

“The boots,” Cade said with a nod.

Jace forgot about the dress and immediately reached for the other box, finding a pair of knee high black vinyl boots with a four inch heel.

“How did you … ?” Jace asked, looking at his sister.

“I notice things,” Izzy replied with a shrug. “Like how you keep a chest at the back of your closet full of things. Not at all in your size. And I just want you to be happy, Jace.”

Jace bit his lip and ducked his head. “I was embarrassed,” he said.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” Izzy said, hugging Jace tight. “I just want you to be happy.”

Jace blinked and returned the hug, only breaking the hug when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and took the plain black bag from Cade, which held his new items.

“Just come find me if something doesn’t fit,” Cade said softly.

“Thanks,” Jace whispered, holding the bag tight. “Thank you.”

“Thanks, Cade,” Izzy said. “We’ll probably be back.”

“Anytime.”

Izzy and Jace made their out back into Odin and back onto the sidewalk. The second they were on the sidewalk, Jace wrapped Izzy in a hug and spun her around a bit. 

“You’re the best sister ever,” Jace whispered.

“I know,” Izzy replied softly. “You know you don’t have to hide anything from me, right?”

“I know,” Jace said. “I just … there’s an image. People expect me to be a certain way.”

“You can kick ass and sleep with whoever you want, and still want to wear something pretty every once and awhile,” Izzy said. “It doesn’t make you … wrong.”

“Thanks,” Jace said, pressing a kiss to Izzy’s cheek. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” Izzy said. “Now, let’s get home. I want to see the whole look, all put together!” She tugged Jace down the sidewalk, headed in the general direction of the Institute.

Jace let himself laugh as he followed his sister. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he’d felt happier than he had in a long time. He jogged a bit next to Izzy, eager to get home.

He had an outfit to try on.


End file.
